How a Grassroots Organization Grew to Support an Entire Community

Jul 19, 2012

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nativeamericanconnectionsdefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/partnering-locally/articles/native-american-connections_092712_878x494.jpg|Man at Native American Connections, Inc.|A Grassroots Support for an Entire Community ||

BANK OF AMERICARTP- Phoenix-Native American Connections- As Produced Video Transcript

(V/O)Kenneth Lewis: I was pretty much a junkie, living on the street. I just really broke down. Nobody wanted to help me. Nobody wanted me around.

Kenneth Lewis: I came to NAC, and decided to go to the residential treatment center. Went back out, and started just living a normal life.

Diana Devine: They offered Ken a job. His passion for the organization, his passion to serve other people, inspired me to want to invest in him.

(V/O)Kenneth Lewis: Working in a healthy environment, working in a place where I can give back, really keeps me grounded.

Diana Devine: We have this wide range of services. Primary care clinic, and a dental clinic, and WIC services, and social services, and work force development.

(V/O)Kenneth Lewis: In the beginning our main focus was for Native Americans, but over time, we’ve opened it to all populations.

(V/O)Diana Devine: The Talking Circle is one of the ceremonies that we ground our traditional healing practices on. And our recovery philosophy.

Kenneth Lewis: It is a way to freely express yourself.

(V/O)Diana Devine: When you sit in that circle, everyone’s equal. Being listened to, being treated in a position of respect. Which may have not have happened to them in this environment, in which they’re using alcohol and drugs.

(V/O)Kenneth Lewis: When you’re walking away, you have a lighter load to carry. And it feels good to be able to talk about some of those things.

(V/O)Diana Devine: Bank of America has been really important to Native American Connections. It’s similar to how we invest in people. They saw our potential. We decided to do a major renovation of Catherine Arms and now we have a beautiful downtown urban housing community for low-income families. And Bank of America stepped up and invested in us. And currently we’re working on the redevelopment of another one of our sites, Stepping Stone. Bank of America, again, is doing the construction loan.

SUPER: Kellie Manthe, Market Manager, Bank of America

Kellie Manthe: This organization, really meets the needs of those individuals. They understand, why they’ve had the difficult challenges. They help to bring in a better place. And they also help to maintain their culture, to be successful in an urban environment.

(V/O)Kenneth Lewis: Here I am today. Being a father, being a mentor. Serving as some sort of inspiration to people. And it wouldn’t have been possible, if NAC wasn’t here.

(V/O)Diana Devine: We let people know that there is hope of a better way of life. We love them until they learn to love themselves.

A Grassroots Support for an Entire Community/en-us/partnering-locally/native-american-connections.htmlGet the whole storybankofamerica1359940|enter782|cr-en402An organization dedicated to giving back grows to support an entire community./en-us/partnering-locally/native-american-connections.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_00||

In the early 1970s, four Native American men founded Native American Connections (NAC), an organization to assist a growing population of Native American men in Phoenix who as a result of leaving their reservations in pursuit of employment became homeless, often abused alcohol and other substances.

The founders, who were undergoing recovery treatment through the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program, sought to provide a safe place for homeless Native America men to live while connecting them with recovery services and jobs. Their work began with a single service site and substance abuse recovery program incorporating Native American cultures and grew into a $9 million organization with 140 employees over the next 40 years.

For the past 15 years, Bank of America has supported NAC’s expansion throughout the Phoenix area.

“Bank of America was instrumental in our growth,” said Diana Devine, president and CEO of Native American Connections. “In 2007, we were recognized as a Neighborhood Builder and awarded an unrestricted grant of $200,000, which allowed our organization to start its expansion into what now includes 18 different service sites, including substance abuse recovery services, a homeless shelter, homeless transitional housing for youth, home-based youth services, HUD-supported housing and beautiful housing communities for low income individuals who want a stable housing environment.”

“Native American Connections does so much for the community,” said Kellie Manthe, market development manager for Bank of America. “After we awarded them with the Neighborhood Builder grant, they immediately moved to acquire a 100,000 square-foot office building so the Native American community could visit a single location that housed services and businesses addressing their needs.”

Bank of America and Native American Connections continue to develop their partnership, with Bank of America providing tens of millions in construction loans and tax credit investments toward the organization’s affordable housing projects, allowing Native American Connections to touch the lives of more than 5,000 families each year.

“Bank of America has been a great community partner for Native American Connections for the last 15 years,” said Diana Devine. “Thanks to Bank of America continuing to invest in our organization and vision, we can continue to serve the community and build our administrative and service infrastructure. We are recognized as one of the largest community developers in Phoenix, but the most important thing is that our work is making a positive impact on someone’s life each day."

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